The UN secretary general warned on Thursday that any damage to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine would be "
suicide
", while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he feared a "
new Chernobyl
", during a meeting in Lviv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“
We must say things as they are: any potential damage to Zaporijjia would be suicide
,” said Antonio Guterres, calling once again to “
demilitarize
” the plant, occupied by the Russian army.
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Saying he was "
gravely concerned
" by the situation in Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Antonio Guterres called for it not to be used "
for any military operation whatsoever
".
The Secretary General continues his visit on Friday to Odessa, a Ukrainian port crucial for the resumption of grain exports blocked by the war.
"New Chernobyl"
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed Turkey's support for Ukraine and was alarmed at the danger of a "
new Chernobyl
", in reference to the largest civilian nuclear accident.
Reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl power plant exploded on April 26, 1986, releasing a radioactive cloud that spread throughout Europe.
"
As we continue our efforts for a solution, we have been and continue to be on the side of our Ukrainian friends
," said Recep Erdogan before adding that he does not want a "
new Chernobyl
".
Occupied since the beginning of March, this power station in the south of the country has been the prey since the end of July of bombardments of which Moscow and kyiv accuse each other.
Thursday evening an official of the pro-Russian occupation administration of the Zaporijia region, Vladimir Rogov, accused the Ukrainian forces of having bombed Energodar, the city near the nuclear power plant.
President Zelensky said on Thursday that the visit to Lviv by his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a "
powerful message of support
" for his country.
He ruled out any peace negotiations with Moscow without the prior withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Zaporijjia, the powerhouse of all dangers
“
People who kill, rape, hit our civilian cities with cruise missiles every day cannot want peace.
They should leave our territory first, then we'll see
,” Voloymyr Zelensky told a press conference in Lviv, saying “
not to trust Russia
.”
In the morning, the Russian army assured that it had not deployed "
heavy weapons
" in and around the Zaporizhia power plant, contrary to what Kiev claims.
For his part, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kouleba, announced on Twitter that the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told him to be "
ready
" to go to the plant at the head of a delegation.
The day before, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had deemed
such an IAEA inspection “
urgent ”.
